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Gorillaz (album)
The debut album from Gorillaz spans a huge range of genres from reggae, Hip Hop, punk to world music and unadulterated pop. Damon Albarn's ear for a tune does not desert him, as evidenced by the string of successful singles this album spawned. Dan The Automator (producer)'s influence is also felt in the programming and the unusual juxtaposition of sounds and samples. Collaborators are also used to great effect; Del Tha Funkee Homosapien's rapping on his two cuts matches anything on Deltron3030 whilst Miho Hatori and Ibrahim Ferrer contribute captivating vocal tracks.Lyrically it is very oblique and aside from the raps doesn't really make sense for the most part, but the vocals remain interesting despite that. Perhaps the great skill in this album is that the genres really don't jar against each other, although the overriding pop sensibility may play a part in that too. This is the album Damon Albarn really wanted to make for years; not having to try to be arch but just writing fun music in the genres that interest him. The Ed Case Refix of Clint Eastwood as a hidden track was probably a last minute inclusion due to the success of the Refix in the UK. It is strange to think that initially it had not been planned to release the Gorillaz album in the US, but when US radio and television started picking up on Clint Eastwood the album was released as soon as possible, with two 'purchase incentive' B-sides tagged on the end before the hidden track. When 19/2000 became successful in the UK and Europe, the album was reissued with the Soulchild Remix of the song, and the Ed Case Refix of Clint Eastwood was taken into the main listed tracklisting (although inexplicably it was the edit, not the full version of the song, that appeared on these reissues). More exotic versions of the album include the Asian two and three CD editions featuring much enhanced content, and the French double CD version which remains the only place the full version of 'The Sounder' was released commercially. Release dates and chart positions UK: 26/03/01 (reissue CD on 02/07/01) – highest chart position: 3 FR: 26/03/01 (reissue CD on 19/06/01, 2nd reissue on 13/11/01) – highest chart position: 7 AU: 18/06/01 (reissue CD on 24/09/01) – highest chart position: 4 US: 19/06/01 (clean version CD on 14/08/01) – highest chart position: 14 Basic Tracklisting 1. Re-Hash 3:38 2. 5/4 2:44 3. Tomorrow Comes Today 3:12 4. New Genious (Brother) 3:58 5. Clint Eastwood 5:42 6. Man Research (Clapper) 4:30 7. Punk 1:36 8. Sound Check (Gravity) 4:41 9. Double Bass 4:45 10. Rock The House 4:09 11. 19/2000 3:27 12. Latin Simone (Que Pasa Contigo) 3:36 13. Starshine 3:31 14. Slow Country 3:34 15. M1 A1 10:40 track itself Bonus Tracks "Clint Eastwood (Ed Case Refix)" – 4:28 — bonus unindexed track on nearly all releases "Dracula" (Gorillaz) – 3:41 — bonus track on US release "Left Hand Suzuki Method" (Gorillaz) – 3:08 — bonus track on US release "19-2000 (Soulchild Remix)" – 3:29 — bonus track on European re-release "The Sounder" - bonus track exclusive to France